The University of Cape Coast (UCC), under the auspices of the Welfare Section of the Directorate of Human Resource, has visited 15 selected retired members of staff in the Central Region, Greater Accra and Volta Regions.   

The initiative dubbed ‘Retirees Outreach Programme’ is aimed at reaching out to a number of retired staff in various regions of the country.

The retired staff members visited were in the Junior and Senior Staff, as well as Senior Members categories.

The retirees were presented with hampers, fruits and other souvenirs from the University, as a way of expressing appreciation for the selfless and meritorious services rendered during their active services to the University.

In an interview, the Deputy Registrar in charge of Welfare Section,Mrs. Florence Opare, who led a 5-member delegation to visit the beneficiaries, said the Directorate instituted the outreach programme to re-establish relations with retired staff, who had retired from active services of the University for ten (10) years or more, as well as checking on their state of health.

She expressed appreciation for the sacrifices and contributions of the retirees to the development of the University during their heyday, adding that," It is as a result of their commitment and dedication to duty that has brought UCC this far."

For their part, the retirees also thanked the Welfare Section and the management of the University for the visit and show of magnanimity.

They expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the University for putting smiles on their faces.

The retirees appealed to the Section to furnish them with souvenirs of the University each year so that they would become abreast of the developments in the University.

They urged the current crop of staff-members of the University to work tirelessly to promote the image of the University.

The Centre for Coastal Management (CCM) under the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Cape Coast (UCC)  has launched an online database project called Fisheries and Coastal Management Database of Ghana (FishCoM Ghana) in Accra.

The primary goal of FishCoM Ghana, which is Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is to offer an efficient and easy access to data (both published and unpublished) to aid the management of Ghana's fisheries and coastal resources.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Paul Bannerman, a Deputy Director of Fisheries Commission, lauded CCM and USAID, as well as the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences for coming out with FishCoM Ghana.

Mr. Bannerman said the online project would help policy makers, researchers, students and other stakeholders to acquire data on Ghana's coastal resources and management to improve the growth of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.

Mr. Bannerman pledged the Ministry and Fisheries Commission’s support to FishCoM Ghana to ensure the sustainability of fisheries management in Ghana.

The Deputy Director disclosed that around 20% of Ghanaian workforce were employed directly or indirectly in the fishery sector for their livelihood.

He indicated that each year the Ministry generates more than $1 billion in revenue annually for the government.

In his remarks, the Director of Centre for Coastal Management, Dr.  D.W Aheto, said data on fisheries and coastal environment in Ghana were scattered in the repositories of different national institutions such as Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), universities and scientific survey divisions of government ministries.

This situation, according to him, limits Ghana's capacity to effectively integrate long-term observations on its aquatic living resources to insure sustainable fisheries development and other anthropogenic actions in our coastal regions.

He noted that the combination of large datasets, geographic distribution of users, and the multidisciplinary nature of fisheries issues required stringent and active data management, adding, “Existing infrastructure for data management in Ghana does not provide this”

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, in a speech read on his behalf by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro, mentioned the over exploitation of fish stocks, pollution of water bodies and the of use of illegal methods of fishing as some challenges which must be addressed.

The Vice-Chancellor said in order for the country to ensure food security, the country should crack down on illicit activities which destroy farm lands and water bodies for agricultural and domestic purpose.

Prof. Ampiah indicated that FishCoM Ghana would  provide the impetus for researchers, students and policy makers to access fishery data without any difficulties.

He commended CCM and USAID for the innovation and noted “the Project would help researchers and fisheries managers, policy makers and stakeholders to acquire and archive data on Ghana’s coastal resources and its management for the growth of the fishery sector.”

The Distance Education Students' Association of Ghana (DESAG) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has launched its 10th anniversary celebrations under the theme “10 years of Distance Education and its Impact on Socio- Economic Growth and Development of the country: A Transformational Force.”

Speaking at the Launch, the Head of Academics at the College of Distance Education (CODE), Prof. Paul Ahiatrogah, commended the leadership of DESAG for the initiative.

He said over the years, the authorities of CODE had had fruitful and cordial relationship with the leadership of DESAG due to the fact that DESAG leadership had always displayed a lot of maturity in their dealings with management of the College.

Prof. Ahiatrogah said the attrition rate amongst teachers had reduced considerably in the country as a result of  the introduction of distance education.

He said a lot of headmasters, circuit supervisors and district directors were products of the College.

Since 2003/4, according to Prof. Ahiatrogah,the College had produced more than 40,000 teachers who were currently discharging their professional duties in the various sectors at the Ghana Education Service.

“Distance Education has transformed the lives of people to channel their energies into productive ventures...,” said Prof. Ahiatrogah, who represented the Provost of CODE, Prof. Isaac Galyoun.

He said the leadership of DESAG called on authorities to open more study centers to enroll more students, adding that “That is why we have more than 60 Study Centers countrywide.”

Prof. Ahiatrogah disclosed that CODE had recruited and given refresher courses  to more than 2000 course tutors who were facilitating Distance Education throughout the country.

He said the introduction of  distance education had reduced the burden on traditional universities as regards the limited space for enrollment.

In his remarks, Dr. Felix Kumadzro, the Co-ordinator of the Students’ Support Services Center, who chaired the function, said authorities of CODE were working tirelessly to make sure that Distance Students enjoy  the same benefits like the regular students.

To this end, he announced that authorities of CODE were in talks with management of the University to affiliate all Distance Students to the halls of residence.

“We are thinking of affiliating all Distance Students to the halls of residence so that you have that identity as a University student,” he said, to cheers from the students.

Some of the activities lined for the anniversary include annual zonal sports games, capacity building seminars, corporate social responsibility, inauguration of scholarship fund, visitation to less privileged individuals, annual congress, among others.

The Agenda 2030 Committee has called on the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, at the Council Chamber.

The Committee, constituted in 2015, is co-chaired by the Director of the Directorate of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance, Prof. Kofi Awusabo-Asare and Mr. Clement Entsua-Mensah, the University Librarian.

Mr. Clement Entsua-Mensah, who spoke on behalf of the committee, said the purpose of the visit was to introduce themselves to the new Vice-Chancellor and inform him of the progress of work of the committee.

Giving the background of the committee, Mr. Entsua-Mensah said the University, after operating two five-year strategic plans, sought to develop a long term plan to guide the development of the institution.

He said, as a result, an alumnus based in South Africa, Dr. Kwame Amoah, facilitated a management retreat to devise a strategy to reposition the University as a center of excellence.

Consequently, Mr. Entsua-Mensah said a committee was set-up to develop and discuss a concept paper at a retreat from 12th-14th June, 2015 at Busua Beach.

He said the outcome of the retreat was the development of a plan named Agenda 2030, which is aimed at pursuing a transformational agenda which will create an institution with visionary and exemplary leadership. 

The University Librarian noted that it was envisaged that the system created would foster critical thinking and an institution in which members would re-affirm their commitment to excellence in academic, administrative and service domains.

Welcoming them, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, expressed satisfaction with the progress of work of the committee so far and urged them to expedite action to complete their work.

He said that management would study and adopt the document.

“I will say that Management will adopt this document and we will study it and we will implement the strategic plan…”, he stressed.

Prof. Ampiah said it required frantic efforts and political will to implement such documents to ensure the forward-march of the University.

The Vice-Chancellor said a committee would be formed to remind stakeholders every year to discharge their duties in line with the issues contained in the document.

Some of the targets to be pursued by the Agenda 2030 are: Promoting transformational governance; Strengthening the human capacity base of the institution; Promoting visibility through academic excellence; Internationalization; Creating platform for Partnerships and Engagement; Infrastructural Development and Finance.